Method and system for provision and acquisition of medical services and products

ABSTRACT

Transactional costs associated with providing professional services are reduced by allowing prospective patients/clients (bidders) and professional service providers to negotiate competitively for desired fees for proffered services through an interactive on-line communications network such as the Internet. In an exemplary arrangement, a transaction system includes a communications network server that interfaces and communicates online with client computer systems belonging to various prospective bidders and personal medical service providers using, for example, an exchange of HTML documents and/or JAVA script applets. A transaction system server handles online communications and procedures for conducting auctions for delivery of proffered services and maintains a registration database of service providers and bidders. An authentication/qualifier engine automatically researches and verifies service provider credentials and background information upon registration of a service provider with the system. Service provider qualification credentials and medical procedural code information databases as well as one or more search engines for verifying and/or researching the qualifications of a particular service provider are provided and made available to a bidder via, for example, a web-page menu driven interface. A service feedback interface and database are provided for handling online feedback information and comments from patients/clients and providers regarding the complexity and quality of services received or provided. The transaction system may also include remote client system software/hardware facilities for bidders and providers for providing customized database and computational services for communicating and participating in online bidding activities.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims the benefit of the following U.S.Provisional Applications, the entire content of each of which is herebyincorporated by reference into this application:

[0002] (1) “Method and System for the Provision of Medical Services” toJulian L. Henley, Serial No. 60/186,542, filed Mar. 2, 2000;

[0003] (2) “Method and Apparatus for the Provision of Medical Services”to Julian L. Henley, Serial No. 60/201,021, filed May 1, 2000; and

[0004] (3) “Medical Transaction Overview” to Julian L. Henley, SerialNo. 60/222,648, filed Aug. 3, 2000.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0005] 1. Field of the Invention

[0006] The present invention generally relates to a business modelmethod and apparatus for reducing transactional costs and/orfacilitating improved choice in access times, locations and providers ofprofessional services such as medical services and products. In general,the present invention relates to a method and system for implementing anelectronic auction of medical services and products via the Internet.

[0007] 2. Related Art

[0008] During the advent of a booming e-commerce over the Internet, manypeople have become familiar with the flexibility and cost effectivenessof shopping “online” for various goods via the use of Internet sitesthat offer public auctioning forums of one sort or another where sellersand buyers may participate in some form of interactive bidding process.However, while online auctioning has been employed somewhat successfullyin the context of bartering for various products, problems arise whentrying to accommodate the need for assessing professional serviceprovider qualifications, scheduling, location and quality. One of theproblems confronting an online bidder for professional services is thatthere is no readily convenient means for verifying the qualifications ofan otherwise unknown service provider or for assessing the quality ofservices likely to be rendered by a particular provider.

[0009] Online auction systems for some types of medical practices havealready been attempted. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,006,191—DiRienzo(1999) discloses a system where certain remotely accessible physicians'services are auctioned so as to better distribute theavailability/utilization of those services across geographic/timedomains. DiRienzo is specifically directed toward the reading ofradiological and other medical images (i.e., image-reading diagnosticservices). In this context, DiRienzo generally teaches:

[0010] “. . . The essence of the invention is the use of adecentralized, i.e., self-organizing, distribution system combined withbid queues to establish a market place which allows for continuouslynegotiated prices with control (over who reads the images, when they areread and what the fee will be for such a reading) being totally in thehands of the patient/gate keeper and the diagnostic physician.” [column8, lines 31-37].

[0011] Additional prior art patents of possible interest include:

[0012] U.S. Pat. No. 5,918,208—Javitt (1999)

[0013] U.S. Pat. No. 5,964,700—Tallman et al (1999)

[0014] U.S. Pat. No. 5,995,939—Berman et al (1999)

[0015] U.S. Pat. No. 6,014,629—DeBruin-Ashton (2000)

[0016] U.S. Pat. No. 6,035,288—Solomon (2000)

[0017] Javitt is directed to a system that allows a doctor to forecastutilization of services. Tallman et al discloses an online system thatallows an insurance company member to select the most appropriatedoctor. Berman et al teaches an e-mail system between doctors and othersinvolved in a specific patient's health care. DeBruin-Ashton teaches amethod of compiling a customized directory of medical service providersfor a particular patient. Solomon is generally directed to onlinebidding for a service (i.e., any service, medical or otherwise) in whichthe price can be negotiated.

[0018] More recently, an Internet “web”-site, having a URL (uniformresource locator) address of “HealthMarket.com”, has begun providing anonline exchange for locating and comparing prices of proffered healthcare services/physicians. This web accessible facility purports toprovide “an internet-based utility that allows employers, individuals,brokers and insurers to find, evaluate, purchase and finance healthcareinsurance”, and does not currently suggest or support online auctioningof personal medical services or products. Of course there are also thewell known E-bay, Priceline.com, etc. online auctions and reversebidding systems that are already well known.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0019] This invention provides the flexibility of an improved onlineauctioning process for negotiating a price for the performance ofpersonal professional services such as, for example, services performedby a physician on a patient (e.g., as opposed to remotely renderedimpersonal services such as the reading of a medical image). In thecontext of providing such personal physical services, it would also bedesirable to provide a convenient mechanism for a prospective bidder toverify that a selected service provider is properly qualified to performan offered service and for informing the bidder as to the likely qualityof the service to be provided at a particular time, location and price.

[0020] Another problem that arises within the context of providing anonline auction forum for personal professional medical services is thata medical service provider has no convenient way to assess the medicalhistory or physical condition of a prospective patient. Since the extentand cost of treating a particular patient may depend upon the patient'smedical history, it is difficult for a provider to fix an offering priceon a service. Consequently, one feature of the present invention allowsmedical service providers to assess the physical condition and medicalhistory of a prospective patient. In addition, the invention provides afair and symmetric mechanism that accommodates errors made in theappropriateness of rendering a particular medical service/procedurewithout a full knowledge of a patient's pre-existing medical condition.

[0021] The present invention also introduces helpful transactionevaluation features such as an associated “complexity rating” for aparticular service/procedure and a “complexity divergence” indicatorwhich provides an indication of the degree that a particularservice/procedure may ultimately differ (e.g., due to unforeseeablecomplications or severity of the treated condition) from theconventional known complexity associated with that service/procedure.Such features can serve to prevent various privacy issues that mightarise during such transactions from encumbering the bidding process andcan make the overall transaction more equitable. For example, thebidding process may be made contingent on the medical appropriateness ofthe actually rendered service and the amount ultimately to be paid on awinning after bid may be varied based on a complexity rating for theprocedure and the complexity divergence score attributed to a particularpatient. In this manner, the moral, ethical and legal obligations of amedical practitioner/provider may be met and the mutual bidder/seller'sinterests fully protected.

[0022] This invention also may provide the flexibility of an onlineauctioning process for other professional services such as, for example,legal or financial services.

[0023] In the context of obtaining personal medical services, forexample, people who are uninsured or only partially covered by aninsurance policy are provided a more convenient mechanism foridentifying and contacting a high quality, qualified medical serviceprovider that will provide a desired medical service at the desiredquality, time, location and price. Medical service providers who own oroperate medical facilities for performing such services are oftenwilling to reduce fees if it would enable them to keep the staff andresources of their facility from being underutilized. For example,during slow or inactive periods, the under utilization of facility andstaff reduces profitability and thereby drives up costs forconventionally scheduled patients.

[0024] This invention provides a mechanism whereby a patient, an agentacting on a patient's behalf or an insurance company can identify anunderutilized facility thus enables the insurance company to negotiate alower price for the policyholder. An uninsured patient may also securethe services at a more favorable price by agreeing to have the desiredmedical service performed during a period of what is otherwise expectedto be facility underutilization. Such facilities and providers also mayagree to lower pricing if they receive payment at time of bid closureinstead of, for example, after a customary 8-12 week post-serviceinsurance reimbursement delay.

[0025] Subject to certain restrictions, such as the availability of anotherwise underutilized medical facility in reasonable geographicproximity to the patient, a novel type of medical insurance policy maybe offered wherein the policyholder agrees to have a desired medicalprocedure or service performed at an otherwise underutilized facility at“market value.” The cost for such a “market value” policy can be reducedbecause the insurer may be able to negotiate a lower price for securinga needed service on a case-by-case basis (e.g., by contracting to have aservice performed at a particular time, or within a specified range oftimes, in an otherwise underutilized facility).

[0026] Alternatively, a novel lower-cost lifetime (or shorter period)maximum benefit insurance package could be offered in such a market(i.e., such that introduced by the present invention). For example, thepremium rate for such an insurance policy could be set proportional orinversely proportional to the residual benefit in either a linear or anon-linear fashion.

[0027] Alternatively still, a novel insurance package could be providedin which health and death benefits are combined together. In accordancewith one such contemplated example insurance package arrangement, theaccrued death benefit of the policy (e.g., using the standard lifeinsurance policy model) can be used to bid for health benefit servicesto preserve life. The expense (e.g., finalized bid price) of therendered medical services is taken from the policy residual deathbenefit and the policy holder's death benefit then becomes the remainingbalance. This creates a situation of finite resources that will imposemarket forces on death providers where each consumer strives to get thebest quality for the best price and preserve the remaining benefit forthemselves and their families. The individual again is empowered to makethose critical heath care decisions and impose market forces on existingproviders by means of this device and method.

[0028] Typically, facilities providing medical services, particularlyelective procedures, spend a significant portion of their operatingbudget on advertising and promotion. An important purpose of theadvertising is to assure that the facility is fully utilized. Thisinvention provides other means for assuring efficient facilityutilization. Thus, even if medical services were to be provided at areduced price, the savings realized by reduced advertising and promotionnow can be shared with the patient, thereby reducing overall medicalcosts for the consumer and increasing profitability for the medicalservice provider. This invention provides a method and apparatus thatwill enable prospective patients to easily identify and access anotherwise underutilized medical facility to negotiate a favorable feefor services subject to scheduling restrictions and other“specifications” set by the medical service provider. Likewise,underutilized medical facilities may now offer services at a negotiablefee in order to more fully utilize the resources of the facility.

[0029] Conventionally, most medical services are sold under afixed-price protocol whereby the medical service provider sets a pricefor the service and a patient either accepts or rejects the price. Thetime, and sometimes the place, that the services are rendered inaccordance with this protocol may be regarded as “flexible” in the sensethat a medical service provider will typically establish a time andplace (i.e., specifications) for rendering the service that is mutuallyacceptable to the parties. However, alternative protocols for perfectingbuy-sell transactions between patients and medical service providersthat are responsive to market forces, such as, for example, an auctionor an exchange for buying or selling medical services similar to a stockexchange, have not been traditionally available.

[0030] Market research has indicated that people, lacking insurance forreimbursement of drug costs, typically pay as much as 15% more for aprescription medicine than people having such insurance for the samemedicine. For example, seniors without drug coverage may not only lackinsurance to protect against high costs, but may not have access todiscounts and rebates that insured people receive. Uninsured persons maynot purchase a needed prescription medicine simply because they cannotafford it. Moreover, market research indicates that spending forprescription drugs is currently growing at a rate that is twice that ofother types of healthcare expenditures. This perceived inequity inpricing between insured and uninsured prescription medicine buyers nowmay be diminished by this invention providing a marketing system andmethod that enables the uninsured to buy prescription medicines at a“fair market price” that is both dynamic and determined as a result ofcompetitive market forces. For example, overstocked medications that areto expire in 6 months may be sold at half price to those patients thatcan use them immediately.

[0031] This invention more efficiently schedules personal physicianprocedures during known predictable slow times (for instance during thenight) so as to better match medical resources with medical needs acrossgeographic/time domains. For example, this invention can provide anautomated system where a doctor is enabled to accept certain bid/costproposals for his/her services and then decide whether to accept ordecline the bid price (thus more efficiently and economicallydistributing medical services to desiring patients that might pay alower cost because the procedure would be done during “off” hours or thelike).

[0032] The present invention may use a client computer system orsuitable handheld wireless device comprising a telecommunications linkto a remote medical transaction server via a digital communicationsnetwork, such as the Internet, for enabling prospective buyers ofmedical services to negotiate with providers of medical services toidentify and secure a reduced market-driven price for desired medicalservices. If desired, a condition may be imposed so that that theservices will be rendered by the facility during a period of what wouldotherwise be facility underutilization.

[0033] This invention may also use a medical transaction systemcomprising telecommunication links to a digital communications network,such as the Internet, that enables a plurality of prospective sellers ofmedical services to offer medical services to patients, insurers, andother third parties using an auction format. A minimum reserve price maybe established for bids received using an auction format.

[0034] A buyer and seller of medical services can also communicate witheach other to establish a mutually acceptable fee for services, themutually acceptable fee being subject to a medical evaluation andrestriction regarding the time and place where the medical services willbe provided. Options may be provided in choosing a less convenient timeand place for receiving medical services in exchange for a better pricefor his/her needed medical services. The qualifications of a medicalservice provider for the provision of an offered medical service may beauthenticated. In fact a buyer and seller of medical services may haveaccess to each other's respective transaction history and feedbackhistory.

[0035] The present invention may provide an online business method andsystem whereby medical services and supplies (e.g., prescriptionmedicines) are offered for sale in an auction forum subject to selectedconditions that can be specified by a medical service provider such as,for example, the time and/or place where the personal medical service isto be rendered.

[0036] In addition, the invention may enable patients, whether insuredor uninsured, to acquire elective surgical services, chronicrehabilitation services, medical equipment support, and othernon-emergency medical and dental services through an auction formatbidding process. Various covered and non-covered services such aspodiatry, chiropractic, acupuncture, homeopathic, behavioralmodification treatment and therapy, weight loss, hypnotherapy and otherhealth related services may also be included for online listing andbidding in an auction format using the method and system of the presentinvention. Although many medically-related health services and productsare subject to regulation to assure quality, the establishment ofspecific qualifying conditions and quality control measures may beimplemented by the system of the present invention.

[0037] An efficient arrangement is also provided for online solicitationof consumer feedback information from patients which, after beingacquired, is maintained in a transaction database and made accessible toother prospective patients. The convenience of online availability of aconsumer feedback database to prospective patients and other buyers ofmedical services should ultimately serve to improve the quality ofmedical services provided to patients.

[0038] A person desiring a specific medical service can be provided witha means to identify a medical facility offering such services and cannegotiate obtaining the services at a “preferred” price in return foragreeing to receive the services during a period of otherwise expectedfacility underutilization. A further feature of the present inventionallows a “standby” option to be implemented wherein the performance ofservices are provided at a reduced rate to a buyer willing to accepttreatment on a “standby” or delayed basis. This feature may beparticularly beneficial in that it provides a further component of costreduction to the patient and/or his/her insurer and could provide themedical provider with greater assurance that revenue is not lost. Usingthe bidding/auction-type format of the present invention, payment(either partial or full) may be made or secured electronically at thetime a bid is accepted (rather than the customary 8-12 weeks afterprovision of a service, a basketful of paperwork and a plurality ofphone calls).

[0039] A practical market-driven system that permits efficient buyingand selling of medical services should also be subject to both strictquality control and acceptable practices by the medical community.Consequently, another aspect of the present invention is that a medicalservice provider's qualifications are preferably authenticated/verifiedusing an authentication engine prior to posting either a global or localoffer to sell a service. In addition, an offer-acceptance agreementbetween a medical service provider and a patient may also be optionallyqualified by a restriction that a patient submit to a medical evaluationto establish the appropriateness of the medical service for theparticular patient.

[0040] Yet another feature of the present invention enables a qualifiedbuyer of prescription medicine and non-prescription medicine to post aproposal to buy the medicine at a price that he/she is willing to payfor the medicine via a public database accessible to sellers of themedicine and to receive and communicate offers to sell the medicine atthe seller's proposed purchase price.

[0041] Direct links to transaction feedback databases can be establishedto allow consumers of medical services to verify and evaluate aparticular provider's product or service. The present invention alsoallows an agreement between a patient and a medical service provider tobe conditioned on establishing the medical fitness of a patient forreceiving a particular medical service.

[0042] In general, the invention provides an efficient apparatus andmethod for exerting market forces on the cost of delivering medicalservices and for streamlining potentially costly administrativeprocedures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0043] These and other features and advantages provided by the inventionwill be better and more completely understood by referring to thefollowing detailed description of presently preferred embodiments inconjunction with the drawings, of which:

[0044]FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a clientserver/scheduling system that may be used by a medical service providerin accordance with the medical transaction system of the presentinvention;

[0045]FIG. 2 is a bar graph illustrating an exemplary future facilityutilization projection over a one year time period;

[0046]FIG. 3 is a chart illustrating an exemplary revenueforecast/projection based upon data as extrapolated from a servicefacility's historical revenue databases;

[0047]FIG. 4 is a table that illustrates exemplary standard procedurepricing employed by a medical service facility offering plastic andreconstructive surgical procedures;

[0048]FIG. 5 is a table that illustrates an exemplary proffered servicefacility schedule for identifying periods of facility underutilization;

[0049]FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary medicalservice facility computer system electronically connected to aninteractive marketing system such as the medical transaction system ofthe present invention;

[0050]FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary onlinemarketing system for providing an interface between a medical servicefacility/provider and patients/bidders desiring to buy/bid upon suchproffered medical services;

[0051]FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary user interface of the medicaltransaction system of the present invention for enabling a buyer orseller of medical services to access the system and to interact withother users;

[0052]FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a presently preferred exampleembodiment of the present invention illustrating the interactivefunctional relationship between various components of the medicaltransaction system of the present invention;

[0053]FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating example linking web pagesaccessible online via a web-site main page of the medical transactionsystem of the present invention;

[0054]FIG. 11 is an block diagram illustrating example functionalprocesses available to a web-site visitor upon accessing online themedical transaction system of the present invention;

[0055]FIG. 12 is a bitmapped image screenshot of an example profferedservices menu web page provided online to a prospective bidder;

[0056]FIG. 13 is a bitmapped image screenshot of an example user log-inweb page provided online for registered users of the transaction systemof the present invention;

[0057]FIG. 14 is a bitmapped image screenshot of an example registrationform web page provided online to prospective uses of the transactionsystem of the present invention;

[0058] FIGS. 15A-15D are a bitmapped image screenshots of an example“Place-ad” form web page provided online to a service provider;

[0059]FIG. 16 is a bitmapped image screenshot of an example user“Searchitem” web page provided online to a prospective bidder;

[0060]FIGS. 17A and 17B is a bitmapped image screenshot of an examplebidding form web page provided online to a registered bidder;

[0061]FIG. 18 is a bitmapped image screenshot of an example BidderFeedback form web page provided to an online registered bidder; and

[0062]FIG. 19 is a bitmapped image screenshot of an example Provider'sFeedback Form web page provided to an online registered serviceprovider.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

[0063]FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary client-provider computer system(10) for use, for example, by a medical service provider enables aservice provider to schedule facility utilization and to automaticallycompute an offering price which may be made dependent upon factors suchas the temporal availability of facility resources and personnel.

[0064] In this example, client-provider server 10 includes at least onecentral processing unit (CPU) 11 and a plurality of data bases 12through 15 maintained on one or more data storage devices. CPU 11receives data from a facility utilization forecast database 12, amedical service standard pricing database 13 and a facility-maintainedfacility scheduling database 14. The CPU 11 receives data from thefacility utilization forecast database 12 and the service standardpricing database 13 to compute a special offering price for servicesrendered during periods of facility underutilization. The computedspecial offering price is stored in an offering price database 15.

[0065] The CPU transfers data from the special offering price database15 to interactive transaction system 16, for example, by means of adigital communications interface device 17 a, such as a modem andassociated telecommunication circuits. A prospective patient/buyer ofmedical services may likewise be connected to transaction system 16 viasimilar interface 17 b. For the purpose of the present description,transferred data from the provider is collectively referred to as“specifications” of the offered service. In a preferred embodiment, thistransferred data includes scheduling dates, at least one medical servicebeing offered for sale and an offering price for the medical service.

[0066] Specifications associated with a particular offered medicalservice may, for example, be determined by historical analysis of marketbehavior. FIG. 2 shows an exemplary graphical representation ofprojected utilization of a particular medical service facility based onhistorical use data. The percent utilization of facility resources isindicated along the ordinate for calendar month dates along theabscissa. In the example, certain months are seen to be moreunderutilized than others. Of course, the goal of an efficient medicalservice facility is 100% utilization of their resources during theentire year. Accordingly, it is to the medical service provider'sadvantage to schedule facility utilization, even at a reduced price,during the expected “low” utilization periods in order to at leastpartially offset operating costs of the facility. An increased number ofpatients/buyers of medical services may be attracted toward using thefacility if the facility is willing to offer services at a specialoffering price during these otherwise expected low periods. The offeringprice for services that are scheduled for periods of greatest expectedunderutilization can be substantially reduced below a “standard” pricein order to generate revenue to offset operating costs.

[0067] The historic average hourly revenue of a medical servicefacility, again using fictitious exemplary data, may be contained in afacility revenue forecast database such as that shown in FIG. 3. In thisdatabase, projected average hourly costs ($/HC) for operating thefacility and projected average hourly facility revenue ($/HR) for eachof the future months are stored. Projected net hourly income ($/HR-$/HC)for operation in future months is shown in column 3. In this example,eight of the twelve upcoming months indicate a loss in projected nethourly income. If the facility usage is increased during these “low”months, the net hourly revenue can be increased. The stored historicrevenue data for the low months can be used to compute a specialoffering price for services to be rendered during the low months as willbe discussed later.

[0068] Many medical service providers have a base pricing structure(e.g. a standardized base price or “BP”) for a particular medicalservice which is, for example, related to the difficulty, attendant riskand time required for rendering the service. Also associated withvarious medical services may be certain overhead expenses, fixed costs,risk reduction costs, and disposable costs. An example of such a basepricing structure for a plastic surgery “surgicenter” is illustrated bythe pricing table of in FIG. 4.

[0069] If a patient agrees to have one of the listed proceduresperformed at a time corresponding to a period of “low” utilization, theprovider can offer a price reduction in consideration for the patient'sflexibility in scheduling. As the facility schedule fills, the offeringprice of further offered services can be automatically adjusted upwardlyin response to the degree of then-anticipated future underutilization.That is, data reflecting the scheduled utilization of the facility, asmaintained in a facility schedule database illustrated by the chart atFIG. 5, can be constantly updated as patients purchase services atspecial offering prices. When the scheduled utilization exceeds theprojected utilization for a particular time period, the special offeringprice can be selectively increased or decreased, in a manner that issensitive and responsive to the demand for services.

[0070] A medical service provider may employ a customized algorithm,encoded and stored, for example, on a computer-readable medium, tocompute a preferred offering price (“OP”) for a particular medicalprocedure in a format that can be uploaded, on-line, onto theinteractive transaction system 16 for posting and solicitation ofregistered buyers. For example, consider a board certified (i.e.qualified) plastic and reconstructive surgeon who is a registeredmedical service provider having an upcoming surgery schedule asillustrated by the hatched areas of the chart in FIG. 5. The surgeonwishes to schedule one of a plurality of medical services that he/she isqualified to provide during the currently unscheduled time. The surgeonhas a base price, BP=$10,000, which is charged for performing a facelift which takes, on average, four hours. On the schedule shown in FIG.5, the only possible dates available for performing the 4 hour procedure(without rescheduling other procedures) are 3/3, 3/4, 3/5, 3/8, 3/9 and3/10. There are 54 hours available for scheduling during these dates(i.e. T=54 hours) of which 8 hours have been scheduled. The unscheduledtime (“UT”) available during these dates is 46 hours (i.e. UT=46 hours).An offering price (“OP”) may be computed using a formula given byEquation 1 below:

OP=BP+UT/T(RP−BP)  Equation (1)

[0071] where “RP” is a reserve price for the procedure. That is to saythat RP represents the minimum price that the surgeon is willing toaccept for providing the face lift. The RP may, for example, be equal toor greater than the sum of the out of pocket costs, including the priceof implants (if necessary), disposables, malpractice insurance andfacility costs such as payroll and equipment leasing. Of course,Equation (1) is only one of many possible algorithms that may be usedfor computing an OP.

[0072] In the above example, using Equation (1), the preferred OP forthe procedure

OP=$10,000+46/54($5000−$10000)=$5741  Equation (2)

[0073] Thus, the surgeon may access transaction system 16 and post anoffer to sell a face lift for $5741, with specifications (i.e.conditions precedent) attached thereto as follows:

[0074] Medical service ID: (system CPT code for face lift/Rhyditectomy)

[0075] Facility: Cedars of Sinai Outpatient Surgical Center

[0076] Location: Los Angeles, Calif.

[0077] Offering Price: $5741

[0078] Available Dates: 3/3-3/5/00 and 3/8-3/10/00

[0079] Payment: in full within 7 days of bid closure

[0080] Other requirements: lab work and medical evaluation prior toscheduled data of surgery

[0081]FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary connection between amedical service provider and an interactive marketing system inaccordance with the present invention. A medical service facilityidentifies periods of projected future underutilization using anin-house scheduling and pricing system 10, and offers medical servicesto prospective patients during these otherwise underutilized periods ata reduced price, wherein the reduction in price is directly related tothe currently projected underutilization of the facility during thesubject period. As discussed earlier, historical facility utilizationdata, contained in the utilization forecast database 12, is comparedwith the scheduling database 14, which contains already scheduledservices for the relevant time period, and the percent of currentlyexpected facility utilization computed for each upcoming date. Thepricing database 13, containing a list of services and/or procedures,the time required for rendering each service and the base price for eachservice or procedure, is modified by a suitable algorithm via the CPU togenerate a current offering price database 15. The offering pricedatabase contains a list of upcoming dates, a list of procedures and/orservices and a special offering price for services rendered at thespecified date. The algorithm used to adjust the base price of a servicehas, as an input, the percent utilization, and will preferably reducethe offering price when the percent utilization of the facility is low,and conversely, will be a factor in raising the offering price as thepercent utilization rises.

[0082] The above description of a medical service provider's schedulingand pricing system 10 for generating preferred OP for services renderedduring periods of low facility utilization, is not meant to be definingof all such systems but merely exemplary of one such system which may beused by a provider for structuring a preferred OP. The preferred OP isultimately intended for posting on a global database, or interactive“bulletin board”, that is reasonably accessible to a large number ofprospective buyers. A system for receiving, organizing, qualifying andposting such specified medical services (and OP), which can be accessedby a plurality of buyers, as well as sellers, of such medical servicesis shown in FIG. 7.

[0083]FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary system that isoperable for conducting a variety of types of buy-sell transactionsbetween a medical service provider facility offering medical servicesfor sale, and patients desiring to buy such medical services. Althoughthe system 16 permits different types of buy-sell transactions to beconducted, as will be discussed later for the purpose of continuity,simplicity, and example, a single simple transaction will first beconsidered wherein a medical service provider offers a specified medicalservice for sale at a preferred price, and the offer is presented to aplurality of buyers and accepted by a single buyer.

[0084] With continuing reference to FIG. 7, a specified medical serviceand offering price, contained in the previously described offering pricedatabase 15 within the facility scheduling and pricing database system10 (FIG. 1), is transmitted to a market access system 16 via a medicalservice provider-controlled interface 17 a, such as akeyboard/CPU/modem/telecom circuit, or other computer networking device.Prior to posting the offer for sale, the system 16 prompts the provider(seller) 70 to enter a registration identifier. If the provider is notregistered to offer services for sale on the system, the provider mustregister online. In order to register, the provider must identifyhimself/herself and enter one or more medical services that the provideris qualified to render. The provider's qualifications for performing thestated medical services are authenticated by means of a search engine 71having a direct link to a qualifier database 72 and/or hyperlinks to oneor more other qualifier databases 72.

[0085] The term “search engine”, as used herein, means an apparatus (ormethod) automatically operable for receiving a user generated label,searching a directory comprised of one or more databases for a matchinglabel and identifying databases within the directory which contain amatching label. The term “qualifier database,” as used herein, means anelectronically accessible computer-readable storage medium containingauthentic certification data for medical service providers. Someexamples of qualifier databases include the AMA's membership roster, aState Medical Licensing Board's roster of licensed physicians, theAmerican College of Surgeons roster of board certified surgeons and aroster of Board Certified Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons, as wellas specific hospital staff privileges roster.

[0086] If the medical service provider is qualified to render themedical service being offered, the qualifications are authenticated bythe system 16 and the provider-transmitted service and offering pricedata, including any restrictions (specifications) are accepted by thesystem 16 as a conditional offer for sale. Put another way, a statementof an intention to offer specified medical services for sale at aspecified date and time, or range of dates and times, at a specifiedprice is posted on an offered service database 73.

[0087] A plurality of patients 74 gain viewing access to the posted datavia a patient interface 17 a (e.g. via the Internet). If the conditionaloffer for sale is acceptable to a patient (or other buyer such as apatient's insurance company) who is a registered user of the system 16,the patient/buyer submits his/her offer to buy (bid) by online postingon a bidding database 75. If the offering price of the medical services,which offering price is included in the specifications of the offer tosell the medical service, is “fixed”, that is, not open to negotiation,the bid is compared with the offering price and, if a match occurs thebid is accepted and the transaction recorded in a transaction statusstorage device 76. If the consumer demand for the service at the posted“fixed” price is greater than the number of services offered at the“fixed” price, other bidders can bid the price higher to gain priorityfor the limited service at the “fixed” price (Dutch Auction).

[0088] The system 16 notifies the buyer and seller that the transactionis complete and the registered buyer and seller identification andtransaction selling price entered into a transaction analysis andbilling database 77 wherein the parties to the transaction are billedfor system use. The buyer and seller may then communicate directly inorder to satisfy specifications posted by the provider such asscheduling a medical exam and arranging to have required lab work doneprior to the time the medical service is to be rendered.

[0089] In the exemplary transaction presented above, the provider'soffer to sell the medical service cannot be construed as an actual offerfor sale because the facility's ability to render consideration islimited by the facility's scheduling capacity. In other words, thousandsof patients viewing an offer to perform a rhinoplasty on Thursday, May22, 2001, at 7:45 AM at a special price of $2500, cannot all be renderedconsideration by the offering facility. Thus, the system 16 must be ableto receive offers to buy a posted medical service in a serial manner toenable the medical service facility to accept only those offers forwhich it can reasonably expect to provide consideration, and reject buyoffers received after 100% facility utilization is realized.Accordingly, a clock 78 records the time that an offer to buy is placedto prioritize such bids. Higher bids (i.e. bid purchase prices exceedingthe “fixed” price) may receive priority over a lower, but otherwiseacceptable, bid which is received earlier. After the medical serviceprovider's facility schedule is full for specified dates and times,additional patients' buy offers (bids) are either rejected or may beaccepted by the medical service provider on a “standby” basis for otherfuture slots.

[0090] In any practical buy-sell system, whether market-driven orotherwise, the medical service provider must have the ability to bind apatient to a legal contract under the terms of the patient's offer topurchase. Similarly, the patient must have the ability to legally bind amedical service provider to the terms of the medical service provider'soffer to sell. The system 16 may provide a registered prospectivepurchaser of medical services access to quality assurance data relatingto the qualifications of the provider that are required in order toprovide the particular medical service, such as, for example, statutorystate and federal provider requirements, provider qualifications,hospital privileges and board certifications.

[0091] In the future, the data that is made available to prospectivebuyers of medical services may be enlarged to provide transactionoutcomes history and other performance criteria about the provider asthe data becomes available to the public via the system 16 or otherInternet links. The availability of such additional transaction outcomehistorical data for a provider will allow the consumer of medicalservices to bid with confidence; being reasonably assured by theexperience of others that he/she will be getting the “best quality forbest price”. In this respect the system provides the consumer withinformation that has not previously been readily accessible and/orverifiable. Most medical referrals are currently made by rosterparticipation (lowest bidder). Provider selection is also typically madefrom neighborhood hearsay data, combined with such a list of qualifiedproviders.

[0092] An example of a “home page” having an Internet identifier:“emedicalbid.com”, useful for accessing and browsing the system 16 inaccordance with the present invention, is depicted schematically in FIG.8. A visitor 80, who may be either a prospective buyer or seller, isdirected to the home page screen 81 and identifieshimself/herself/themselves as either a buyer, a seller, or payor, (e.g.an insurer) of medical services/products, and provided with a menu 82displaying a variety of medical related services and product options,including options for buying or selling medical services, medicalequipment, and medical supplies such as drugs. The visitor 80 may browsethe various menu-linked service databases 83 by choosing the desiredcategory of services. If the visitor wishes to buy or sell a medicalservice, the visitor must first complete a registration process bycompleting a buyer registration questionnaire 84 or a providerregistration questionnaire 85. The buyer of services may be similarlysubjected to credit qualification to minimize “no show bids”.

[0093] The term “medical services”, as used herein, includes surgery,medicine, radiology, medical equipment sales or leasing, pharmacy,alternative medical services, dentistry and dental procedures,rehabilitation services and other medical services, the provision ofwhich are subject to licensing. The method for selling a medical servicein accordance with the present invention requires enrolling at leastone, and preferably a plurality of, medical service provider(s) using anon-line registration system. After a medical service provider isenrolled, the medical service provider may request the system 16 to postan offer to sell a specified medical service included within the menu 82of medical services at a specified offering price.

[0094] The system 16 authenticates the qualifications of the medicalservice provider by searching the qualifier database 72 (FIG. 7). Thequalifier database 72 includes every service listed in the menu ofmedical services and the licensing requirements for providing theparticular service. The qualifier database contains a list of medicalservices, the qualifying requirements for rendering such medicalservices, and hyperlinks to databases storing the identification ofmedical service providers having satisfied a particular qualifyingrequirement. If the provider's qualifications for performing aparticular service have not been previously authenticated by the system,a software qualification engine will access and search externaldatabases that identify qualified providers for the particular medicalservice.

[0095] In an example embodiment of the qualification engine of thepresent invention, a medical specialty Board Certification awarded to agiven practitioner is used to define the cluster of CPT coded proceduresthat the practitioner may perform well. If a practitioner posts aprocedure or service for bids for which he/she is not duly certified, aninternal alert is raised by the qualification engine and a request forspecific qualifications is made to practitioner. In this manner, thequalification engine prevents a cardiologist, for example, from postinga body liposuction as a procedure for soliciting bids. Moreover, thequalification engine may implement this and other predeterminedrestrictions using an evolving list of threshold qualifiers foraccommodating orphan procedures practiced by the various medicalspecialties.

[0096] Once the qualifications are authenticated, an offer to sell thespecified medical service and the specified offering price is posted ona global database 73 that is accessible, on-line, to a plurality ofbuyers. For posting purposes, the system uses a basic qualificationthreshold. It may be desirable to provide means for the patient toaccess additional provider qualification to bolster the bidder's comfortwith placing a bid. The system will prevent a dentist from posting anoffer to perform a liposuction procedure but will not prevent a generalsurgeon (legally qualified) from offering such services. A provider'smembership in the American Liposuction Society will be reassuring to theprospective bidder but such membership will not define the gateway toperforming such a procedure.

[0097] It is the purpose of the system to bring free market forces tohealthcare while providing a quality assurance umbrella. It is not thepurpose to foster interdisciplinary territorial squabbles or facilitatemedical market niches for any one medical subspecialty over another.Ultimately, provider competence and patient satisfaction (monitored byfeedback database and medical outcomes database on each member) will bemore influential with prospective buyers than certificates from obscuresubspecialty entities. A prudent balance between qualifier threshold andthe fostering of competitive markets are possible with the system 16 inaccordance with the present invention.

[0098] The system 16 provides free system access to a plurality ofprospective buyers for the purpose of viewing offered medical services.In order for a prospective buyer to purchase a listed service at alisted purchase price, or at any price, the prospective buyer of medicalservices must first enroll using an on-line registration system 84. Onceenrolled (registered), a buyer is issued a buyer identifier and, usingthe identifier, may place an offer to purchase the listed medicalservice. The system receives the offer to buy, accompanied by aspecified purchase price, from the buyer, and if the specified purchaseprice in the offer to buy the specified medical service is greater thanor equal to the last bid price, the offer is accepted and stored in atransaction status database 76. The transaction status database 76includes a processor that provides an output to the seller identifyingthe buyer and enabling direct communication therebetween. The parties tothe closed transaction are then billed for system use via thetransaction analysis and billing processing unit 77.

[0099] The method for buying and selling a medical service, describedabove, is efficient and has advantages realized by both the buyer andthe seller. The seller can reduce advertising costs and use facilityresources more efficiently. The buyer secures needed or desired medicalservices by accepting restrictions regarding when and where the serviceis provided as set forth in the specifications accompanying an offeredmedical service. The method may not in all instances, however, fullybring market forces to bear on the pricing of medical services. In theabove example, the price is set by the medical service provider eitherat a “fixed” price or at the highest price proffered in a Dutch auction,and is either accepted or rejected by the buyer. The power of thepresent invention is better realized by opening the price of medicalservices to competitive bidding, most preferably in the form of anauction.

[0100] The above-described method for selling and acquiring medicalservices at a fixed price can be modified to meet objectives of thepresent invention by posting offers to sell medical services on a globaldatabase at an open, unspecified price that exceeds a fixed minimumreserve price. In accordance with the preferred method of the presentinvention, the enrollment and authentication of buyers and sellers isimplemented as described above. The medical service provider (seller)submits an offer to sell specified medical services at a price to exceeda minimum reserve price. After the system 16 receives the offer andauthenticates the medical service provider's qualifications to providethe medical service in the manner described above, the offer to sell isposted on a globally accessible offered service database 73.

[0101] A plurality of registered buyers 74, viewing the offer to sell,may submit an offer to buy the offered medical service. The purchaseoffer and the time that the offer is received by the system are stored.The proffered purchase price, specified in the offer to purchase, iscompared with the reserve price specified by the seller. If theproffered purchase price is equal to or greater than the reserve price,the purchase offer is entered into the bidding database and the timethat the offer was proffered is recorded. A second prospective buyer mayview the first buyer's proffered offer and submit a second offer topurchase the medical service at a price that exceeds the price offeredby the first prospective buyer. If the purchase offer proffered by thesecond buyer is greater than the price proffered by the first buyer, theoffer proffered by the second buyer is entered and the first buyernotified that a higher bid was received. The first buyer, or any otherbuyer viewing the second buyer's offer, can proffer a third offer thatexceeds the then-current highest offer.

[0102] The process continues until the time allocated for closing thetransaction, specified by the seller, has been reached, and furtherbidding is closed. As in the seller-fixed-price example of the methoddescribed earlier, the parties to the transaction are noticed that thetransaction is complete and then they are billed at 77.

[0103] The provider feedback database 79 of the system 16, illustratedin FIG. 7, provides means for the buyer to comment on the transactionafter the medical services are rendered, the comments providing feedbackregarding provider performance which is stored in the database 79 forfuture reference. Transaction feedback may be stored separately from amedical outcomes database 79 a which may take longer to acquire andderive meaningful data.

[0104] The method of the present invention also contemplates purchasingof medical services at a price determined by buyers. In this example ofthe method, a registered buyer 74 logs onto the system 16, selects amedical service that the buyer wishes to acquire and proffers a purchaseprice for the medical service. If the buyer is registered, the purchaseoffer is posted on a “services wanted” bidding database 75, which isaccessible to a plurality of registered providers of medical services.If a provider viewing the offer to buy wishes to provide the medicalservice at the proffered seller-set price, the medical service providersubmits an offer to sell the specified services to the system. After themedical service provider's qualifications for providing the medicalservice are authenticated by the system, the offer to sell is posted forviewing by the buyer. The buyer may either accept the offer to sell, andall conditions specified in the offer to sell, such as the location anddate that the services will be rendered, or defer acceptance of aparticular offer until a specified time. Further offers to sell medicalservices to the buyer may be submitted by qualified sellers until thetime window specified by the buyer for receiving offers closes. Thebuyer may accept or reject any medical service provider's offer to sellwithout cause.

[0105] Any buyer, once registered, whether a patient, an agent of thepatient or an insurer, may use the system and method of the presentinvention to bid for an offered medical service. The registered buyermay also use the system 16 to post an offer to purchase a specifiedmedical service and solicit bids for the specified medical service frommedical service providers. With reference now to FIG. 9, to use thesystem 16, the registered user 90 is linked to a menu 82 of medicalservices (shown in more detail at 83 in FIG. 8). The registered user 90selects a particular medical service 91 from the menu 82 and is promptedto identify a location at 92, by city and state, where the particularmedical service is to be rendered. The registered user is then providedwith a choice of ways for offering to buy or sell the particular medicalservice 91. For example, a buyer may scan the offers to sell theparticular medical service in the geographical area of interest that areposted on the bidding database. The buyer can either purchase themedical service at the price specified by the medical service provideror proffer a purchase price that is less than the specified sellingprice. The buyer's bid is compared with the highest previous bidreceived from other buyers which is stored in the bidding database, andeither replaces the highest bid in the bidding database or is rejected.The bidder may be noticed of the previous highest bid prior to enteringa bid thereby providing the opportunity to increase the bid.

[0106] If the medical service provider has specified a minimum reserveselling price which is greater than the proffered offering price, theproffered offer to purchase can, at the buyer's option, be posted in abuyer-priced database, and the offer to purchase made available forviewing by a plurality of registered medical service providers. Amedical service provider viewing the offer to purchase may proffer anoffer to sell the posted particular medical service, which offer isstored in the buyer-priced database. The prospective buyer is noticed ofthe proffer and may either accept or reject the proffer, along with thespecifications connected to the proffer.

[0107] The formation of a legally binding contract between partiesrequires (a) mutual consent to the same terms and conditions; and (b)consideration. If the buy-sell transaction is conducted, in part, byelectronic telecommunication, a practical system must additionallycomply with the legal requirements for perfecting an agreement underelectronic contracting law; an area of law that is evolving. Anyagreement between a medical service provider and a patient and/or apatient's insurance company must provide for termination of theagreement in the event that either the medical risk for the patient haschanged after the agreement was entered into and before services are tobe rendered, or the medical service provider is unable to render themedical service at the time the service is to be performed for a causereasonably beyond the control of the provider. These considerations, aswell as means for dealing with them, are contemplated in the presentinvention.

[0108] The system presented herein provides flexibility for both themedical service provider and the buyer (or payor). For example, aprovider may offer a package that includes surgery, a hospital bed (forx days), hospital services, anesthesia and operating room.Alternatively, the provider may offer the package and include thehospital bed for only one day after which the cost of the bed is extra.The buyer can search for a provider that is offering a hospital bed andservices at a better price, and arrange to be transferred to the otherhospital bed after the first day included within the contracted packagehas passed.

[0109] A low hospital bed occupation census is economically wastefulbecause the hospital must maintain full time staffing in a “ready mode”,prepared to take care of various medical and surgical events during allshifts. The cost of maintaining such highly skilled labor and servicesis high, both in terms of monthly payroll and the cost of compliancewith imposed regulatory procedures that a hospital must deal with. As anexample, consider a well-staffed hospital experiencing a low patientcensus situation during the month of February. Such a low census couldbe a seasonally cyclical effect, or due to a slump in the local economy.A major managed care provider may have taken all its subscribers to acompeting cross-town hospital that offered them a better per diemcontract. Whatever the reason for the low patient census, the hospitalmust respond effectively or close its doors.

[0110] The hospital may respond to the low census event by posting anoffer to sell ten medical patients per diem, each patient per diemincluding the cost of a hospital bed with included medical and nursingservices, on “e-MedBid.com” at a reserve price of $800.00 per day. Theusual per diem charge (i.e. base price) is $1800 per day. The offeringhospital may expect to receive a per diem fee of $1560 from Medicare.The hospital may receive $1260 per diem from some managed care planwhich would be marginal for meeting its operating costs. If a patient isadmitted and needs costly care, the hospital loses money at that rate.Nevertheless, the hospital benefits the community by taking care ofneedy and uninsured patients and participates with dominant communityinsurance plans, even if they reimburse marginally.

[0111] An insurance carrier with a large population of subscribers mayview the offer to sell and choose to bid for the offered $800 per diembeds with an intent to place its community subscribers in the offeringhospital when such hospital services are needed. The insurance carriermay purchase all 10 beds by on-line bidding, benefiting from the sharplydiscounted per diem price. If the insurance carrier(s) utilize thosebeds, they will realize a profit. Hopefully, this will benefit theconsumer through lower insurance premiums. The offered beds can also bebid for by uninsured patients (estimated 44 million) that seek anelective procedure and wish to reduce their out-of-pocket costs.

[0112] The same day/beds may be purchased or bid for by a cardiacsurgeon who purchases cardiac/surgical per diems. Operating room hoursand ICU beds may also be acquired in similar fashion. The surgeon,having purchased the beds, may then post an offer to provide (i.e. sell)a very competitive combined package of coronary bypass graft with theassociated hospital beds for a 4 day stay. He may offer such a packageat preferred price of $18,000, which would cover not only his services,but also the anticipated hospital services (that he acquired at asignificant discount to make the total package more attractive). Theforgoing exemplary transaction works for the hospital, the physician,and the cardiopulmonary staff. The consumer/patient who is undergoingelective coronary bypass graft, benefits from significant discounts byusing an otherwise underutilized hospital and staff.

[0113] At the same time, the consumer/patient has an enhanced ability toevaluate the quality of the physician and the hospital through theassociated qualifier database and patient feedback links. The qualifierengine and associated databases make the qualifications of both thephysician providing the service and the treatment institution/facilitiesavailable to the consumer/patient. The foregoing example, illustratingthe use of the present invention for buying and selling medicalservices, facilitates the delivery of quality health service atcompetitive prices. This is just one of many exemplary scenarios wherethe present invention can make consumer/patient benefits, the healthcareprovider benefits, and the quality of services more transparent thanever before.

[0114] The bidders for the specified hospital beds may include patientswho have a large co-pay or deductible and are under pressure to use costeffective services as well as patients that choose novel healthcareinsurance policies that will evolve when consumer driven price/qualitymedical services, in accordance with the present invention, becomeavailable. Such novel insurance policies may include policies havinglimited lifetime benefits. A low cost insurance policy may be developedthat offers a $100,000 lifetime benefit (similar to term life insurance)wherein the monthly premium increases in proportion to the diminishingresidual lifetime benefit. The patient may purchase additional coveragein units of $100,000. Premium costs for such novel policies will be afunction of age, risk factors, medical evaluation and residual coverageavailable under other policies. Such insurance policies will shift costcontrols to patients (or their agents) and hereby facilitate theimposition of cost with quality controls on the healthcare providers.

[0115] The system and method described herein empowers the patient toimpose cost constraints and quality assurance on each healthcaretransaction. Thus, the patient is better positioned to press forimproved quality and reduced price from the health care industry.Current managed care programs employ uninvolved managers to impose costcontrols with the guise of quality on the healthcare provider anddisempower the patient in the process. The system and method disclosedherein does what current systems fail to do: empower the patient to makecost and quality decisions about their own healthcare. Thirty years ago,healthcare providers strove for quality and gave minimal attention tocost controls. Today, healthcare providers strive for cost controls andgive token attention to quality. Future healthcare delivery systems willneed to embrace both quality and cost controls and empower the patientto choose the right balance between these two, historically polar,interactive forces.

[0116] As a further example of the flexibility the system offers, apatient requiring a medical service or procedure may select a hospitalof choice and bid for a hospital bed therein. If the bid is accepted bythe hospital, the patient may then solicit bids from physiciansqualified to perform the procedure at the hospital. In this manner, apatient or payor may be able to perfect the provision of the medicalservice by modularizing the components of the service and acquiring eachcomponent separately by means of bidding.

[0117] Current insurance reimbursement policies and practice frequentlycause delay in payment for the provider of the medical services. Thecost of the “float” is currently carried by the medical service providerand inflates the cost of providing medical services. Similarly, theprovider must bear a portion of the cost of negotiating the presentlycomplex and cumbersome contractual relationship between providers andinsurers. In accordance with the present invention, the parties to thebidding transaction may specify payment policy. For example, theprovider may require a 10% deposit at the time the bidding closes withan additional 90% due prior to the scheduled date of service. In thisway, costly last minute cancellations can be minimized. In this regard,it may also be desirable to establish the buyer's ability to pay the bidprice for a medical service by searching a variety of databasescontaining member credit information prior to accepting the bid. Suchsearch engines are well known in the prior art and may be linked to thesystem 16 electronically.

[0118]FIG. 10 shows an hierarchical diagram of linked Internet “web”pages, illustrated as labeled blocks 100, for an example medicaltransaction system “website” provided by medical transaction system 16.Any person having a computer with an Internet connection and aconventional “browser” program can obtain access to the medicaltransaction system web-site as provided by the present invention. Inthis example, conventional HTML document “web” pages 100 are distributedvia the Internet by transaction system 16. Hyper-text links (not shown)on the web pages allow an online “visitor” to view further web pagesprovided by medical transaction system 16 (as indicated by theconnecting lines between labeled blocks 100). The various web-pages maybe accessed, for example, by prospective bidders and service providersvia the hyper-text links for obtaining specific information orperforming a particular function. For example, an online “visitor” tothe transaction system web site may begin an online session by receivinga “home page” 101 from which the visitor can access and view other“linked” pages for participating online in selected transactions andrelated activities such as: registering via an online registration form(102), identification as a registered user via “sign in” pages (103,104), browsing for specific information (105), etc.

[0119]FIG. 11 shows another block diagram illustrating example functions200 available to a visitor 201 upon accessing the exemplary medicaltransaction website of the present invention for performing variousonline functions.

[0120] Referring now to FIG. 11, a visitor to the sites, for example, aprospective bidder, service buyer, (e.g. insurance company) or aprovider of medical services encounter registration forms upon enteringthe web site. The registration forms provided are different for aprovider of services (who will also need to list their qualifications toprovide such services) than for a buyer of services (who will need toestablish credit worthiness and a certain threshold criteria andidentification to make them an accreditable purchaser of services). Thisis done through the use of outside links with VISA, Mastercard andbanking links to confirm the credibility of buyers in a similar fashionas a credit check engine are done at this time. A prospective purchaserof services may then enter a “posting” database 242 where procedures forbidding are made available to bidders and providers can post theirservices and their specific requirements/conditions.

[0121] At the posting database there are web page links 203 toindividual provider web sites to further improve the depth of knowledgeand qualifications of such provider. There is also provision for makingan e-mail connection 204 with the proffered service providers if thereare specific issues that need to be resolved, answered or negotiatedbetween the bidder and the provider. Search engine 205 can search bycategories, time, locations, and available services, as well asparameters that are linked to quality assurance. A quality assurancedatabase 200 is linked to a provider member's database 207. Using thisdatabase, web pages are also provided for viewing comments and feedbackassociated with individual transaction and outcomes, as well as links toa software qualifier engine (authenticating engine) that evaluates eachregistered provider member through outside links to AMA, StateLicensing, Federal Licensing, Hospital Privileges and certifying bodies.

[0122] Such multi-level confirmation to outside available database isdone internally by transaction system 16 in the background through thequalifier engine. For example, system 16 performs a search in an outsidePublic domain database or subscribed databases using a registrant's nameand license number. Confirmations are then displayed for the bidder/userof such services.

[0123] Upon registering a provider of proffered services lists his/herqualification, board certification and his/her hospital privileges. Inthe background, the qualifier engine 208 will reach out to existingdatabases in the network to determine if stated/listed qualifications ofa particular service provider are confirmed and cross referenced onexisting outside databases.

[0124] Subsequent bids on a given procedure are stored. There arevarious types of bidding process that may go on. They could benegotiated bids with counter offers. There could be a reserved bid wherea provider lists his services with a hidden reserve price below which,until that price is reached, he is not obliged to consume thetransaction and there is a Dutch bid in which a number of procedures orhospital beds can be listed at a given price and bidders bid at thatprice. If all the orders are filled they can voluntarily raise theirprice to secure a primary position in obtaining such limited services atthe specified Dutch bid. In addition, there is a prior transactiondatabase where assessment of similar procedures by similar providers canbe traced historically. There is also a database for outcomes of suchtransactions in the feedback form.

[0125]FIGS. 12 through 16 show example bitmapped image screenshots ofvarious web pages provided by the medical transaction system of thepresent invention. FIG. 12 shows a bitmapped image screenshot of anexample proffered services menu page (“Browse” page). In this exampleembodiment, the menu page includes lists of proffered medical servicesand products for selection by a prospective bidder. The menu page inthis embodiment may also include a display section listing experimentaltreatments/studies where protocols, subject selection criterion,investigator qualifications and regulatory approvals are listed whenavailable. In addition, the menu page in this embodiment may includeuser selection boxes for selecting a preferred location (e.g., by state)and a preferred time (e.g., by month) for the service to be performed.The menu page for the example embodiment may further include a displaysection listing “hot items” representing selected proffered servicesand/or medical products that are currently being offered at a low pricerepresenting a “good deal.” The menu page for the example embodiment mayalso further include a display section for listing “wanted” items and/orservices (i.e., desired items and/or services) along with a profferedprice posted, for example, by a recent visitor to the web site. FIG. 13shows a bitmapped image screenshot of an example visitor “Log-in” webpage provided online for registered users of the medical transactionsystem of the present invention. FIG. 14 shows a bitmapped imagescreenshot of an example visitor “Registration” web page providedonline. FIGS. 15A through 15D show bitmapped image screenshots of anexample “Place-ad” page provided to a registered service provider andFIG. 16 shows a bitmapped image screenshot of an example “Search-item”page provided to a prospective patient/bidder.

[0126] The online transaction system of the present invention alsoprovides an arrangement for handling and providing bid pricemodifications and variable pricing schemes to accommodate, for example,unanticipated changes in rendered medical procedures and medicalprocedures of various levels of complexity. For example, a gall bladderremoval operation performed on a healthy person vs. a patient with apotentially affecting concurrent condition or illness (such as diabetes,hypertension or obesity) may require a different degree or level of careor even a different type of medical service or treatment than originallybid upon. For example, one type of service/treatment may be provided onan out-patient basis and another may require use of an acute carefacility. Consequently, there is a need to disclose to a provider ofproffered medical services at least some personal medical informationconcerning a prospective patient so that an equitable price or anadjustment to an offered price for proffered services can be made in thecase where it is determined that unanticipated different or additionalmedical services must be rendered.

[0127] The need for a disclosure of personal medical information by aprospective patient or bidder can potentially pose a problem in an“anonymous” online bidding context since the personal privacy interestsof prospective patients/bidders must somehow be protected. Although suchinformation may significantly affect the ultimate cost of a profferedservice, a prospective patient/bidder should not be required to discloseonline detailed personal medical information before an actualpatient/physician relationship is established. As an effective solutionto this problem, the online transaction system of the present inventionuses an online medical “complexity rating” that allows a bidder tocommunicate to a proffered service provider a scale value that is atleast somewhat indicative of the degree to which undisclosedpre-existing/concurrent personal medical conditions may affect theproffered service. In an example embodiment, a prospective patient mayselect a complexity rating which best describes his/her concurrentmedical condition or medical history from an online list provided by thetransaction system. Once a patient/physician relationship is actuallyestablished, the selected complexity rating is later used by thetransaction system in computing an adjustment to the bid price. Theamount of the adjustment is subject to a complexity rating of thepatient by the service provider after evaluating the patient.

[0128] For example, using a limited scale of values from zero to two, amedical complexity rating scale value of “0” might be used to define themedical situation of a standard healthy patient with no known concurrentmedical conditions or problems (indicating no potentially complicatingfactors to treatment); a scale value of “1” might be used to define themedical situation of a patient with at least one concurrent medicalcondition or other associated medical problems (indicating some degreeof medical complexity and potentially complicating factors totreatment); and, a scale value of “2” might be used to define themedical situation of a patient with multiple concurrent medicalconditions, problems or history of prior failed treatments (indicating amedically complex situation with multiple factors contributing to theperformance of the proffered service). A prospective patient/bidder,after reviewing the online complexity rating definitions, then selectsand submits a complexity rating selection value—preferably along withhis/her bid during the online bidding process. FIGS. 17A and 17B show abit-mapped screen display of an example “bidding form” web page providedto an online bidder. In this example, complexity rating input box (300)is provided for selecting and submitting a complexity rating scalevalue.

[0129] At the time of registering with transaction system 16 and placingan online solicitation for offers to bid on a proffered service, aservice provider may submit information relating to an amount orpercentage of bid price adjustment to be made as a function of theincrease (or decrease) in complexity of rendering a proffered service,based on the same medical concurrent complexity rating scale. FIG. 15Dshows a bit-mapped screen display of a portion of an exampleplace-ad/registration form web page provided to an online serviceprovider. In this example, a portion of the provided web pageplace-ad/registration form includes a “Medical Concurrent ComplexityRating” scale definition (400) that is displayed, along with web pageinput boxes (401, 402, 403) below it, for selecting and submitting bidprice adjustments to be made based on the complexity rating scale.

[0130] For example, if a provider lists a gallbladder operation where hecan have an incremental increase depending on his fee and listed in thebid depending on the associated complexity. He can have a current statusthat is about 20% to 30% increase for level 1 complexity and possible a40% increase for level 2 complexity. Level 1 complexity would be anassociated medical condition that could impact the complexity of thegiven procedure. Such conditions could be diabetes, hypertension,bleeding disorders, cardiac disease or basically anyone who is takingother medical for other chronic medical conditions. This would bevoluntarily listed as a category 1 of complexity. There is another levelof complexity that would constitute a category 2 that not only involvesspecific conditions that would complicate a given treatment, but also ahistory of previous treatments, failed or successful for a givenconditions.

[0131] An another example of such procedural “complexity” would be if apatient has undergone four rhinoplasties in the past and is shopping forthe fifth. Obviously, this involves previous failed treatment. The areais full of scar tissue and a revision scar rhinoplasty is certainly nota virgin rhinoplasty. At the same token, the patient will submitvoluntarily, his own assessment of complexity. In the feedback that theprovider of services learns about the patient, he/she will list thecomplexity divergence score that after medical evaluation to describewhether the patient correctly described their level of complexity. Thiswould constitute the market force to maintain honest communication yet,at the same time, disclose no specifics about a particular conditionand, in the absence of specific information, privacy issues are notencountered. In this fashion, the patient voluntarily assesses his orher own level of complexity and communicates that to the provider. Theprovider has an automatic pricing adjustment, if he chooses, or he maychoose to have it at the same price but at least the complexity issuesare not negatively impacting the conditional bid transaction.

[0132] The condition aspect remains in force because the provider ofservices, or physician, has the ultimate liability to assess whether thegiven procedure is medically indicated even though the patient may havebid for it. he has to have the option to decline if he deems it anunnecessary risk to the patient's life or not medically indicated forthe condition the patient is seeking. By the same token, the patient isprotected that, in the event an alternative procedure is required, thepatient will have an opportunity to receive that alternate procedure atthe same price he bid for with the lesser procedure, with a relativevalue scale factor adjustment for the more complex procedure. Thisprotects the pricing the patient has pursued and prevents the cliniciansfrom unnecessarily “upcoding” the complexity or negotiating a new dealonce the patient is in their office. CPT coding for procedures I alreadyestablish where it's a database of a description and codes. A standardword search can be utilized to locate the appropriate codes to describea given procedure.

[0133] Once a patient/physician relationship is established between abidder and a service provider (assuming, for example, theprovider/physician has physically examined and evaluated the patient),the service provider/physician similarly submits a complexity ratingscale value online to the transaction system based on an assessment ofthe patient (patient evaluation feedback). The transaction system thenuses the respective complexity rating scale values submitted by both thepatient/bidder and the service provider/physician to compute a“complexity divergence” score. This value may be based, for example, onthe difference between the complexity rating scale value submitted bythe patient and the complexity rating scale value submitted by theprovider. The transaction system may also compute a cumulativedivergence score based, for example, on a running average of complexitydivergence scores associated with a particular patient over a series ofseparate medical transactions.

[0134] Transaction system 16 also provides various web page based online“feedback” mechanisms for both the patient and the provider. Forexample, FIG. 18 shows a bit-mapped screen display of an example BidderFeedback form web page provided online to a registered bidder. Theexample form includes drop-down input selection boxes for allowing aregistered bidder to select various predefined descriptions of thebidder's perceived quality of service provided by a particular serviceprovider. For example, one or more an input/selection boxes are providedfor identifying: the particular service provider used, the servicecategory involved, the ease/difficulty of conducting the particulartransaction (transaction ease), the outcome of the treatment (treatmentoutcome) and providing suggestions/comments about or for the serviceprovider.

[0135] Provisions are also made for allowing a service provider toprovide comments/feedback regarding a particular patient. For example,FIG. 19 shows a bit-mapped screen display of an example Provider'sFeedback Form web page provided online to a registered service provider.Using a “patient's compliance” input box displayed on a web pageprovided by the transaction system to a registered service provider, theprovider may submit feedback to the transaction system such as, forexample, various comments/information regarding a particular patient'sability to follow instructions and take appropriate medication.

[0136] The following example illustrates the use of the complexity anddivergence score: A patient shopping for a rhinoplasty bids for arhinoplasty from a skilled practitioner and represents himself as acomplexity level 0. At the time of consultation, it turns out that thepatient has had three fractures and four previous operations. He now hasa fair amount of scarring and complexity. The chances of getting goodresults are borderline. The practitioner now has the medical obligationto inform the patient of the complexity of his condition. In theexample, there is a divergence of 2. At this point, the practitioner hasthe choice of not performing the procedure (if he feels the risks aretoo high) or if an understanding with the bidder can be reached he mayperform the procedure (a higher level of complexity). This newnegotiated price, for example, would be bound by published CPT codes anda “relative value multiplier”. For example, if a simple procedure is tobe performed at $3000, and two levels of complexity imply a 40%increase, the new price will reflect compliance with the relative valuescale and then increase it by the percentage of points against thelesser procedure. The incorporation of these concepts is illustrated inFIGS. 18 and 19 by the bidder and provider feedback forms.

[0137] Procedural CPT codes are a set of complex codes developed to helpinsurance companies code medical procedures in their attempt tostandardize reimbursements. Transaction system 16 may incorporate a CPTcoding/search engine that provides the CPT code number associated with aparticular medical procedure. The proffered service provider mayoptionally list relevant CPT codes that describe the procedure he/she isputting up for bid. In a contract, for example, the provider of servicesagrees to follow conventional published “relative value” guidelines inthe event that the bidder medically ultimately needs a related CPT codemedical service instead of the proffered service upon which the bid wasbased. (There are several published “relative value scales”, forexample, McGraw Hill, which tries to standardize the relative multiplierfactors of one CPT code against another.) For example, a herniaoperation may be a multiplier of 1.2 relative to a tonsillectomy. Thisfeature is useful for handling the situation where a bidder for medicalservices bids for a procedure of lower complexity and is a holder of acontingent bid, and at the time of the consultation and finalization itis perceived through the medical practitioner that a patient has askedfor one operation but actually to treat his condition, needs another.

[0138] For example, in order to set guide lines for such furthernegotiation on pricing and to protect the bidder from having the healthprovider inequitably increase the price for a related procedure, theprovider of services is bound by his/her contract to utilize thepublished relative value multipliers. If the bidder requires anothermedical service that is related but of different complexity, the bidderhas the option to accept the negotiated price of a different CPT codedprocedure, but is bound by the relative value multipliers against thesame price that was bid on the lesser procedure.

[0139] This arrangement protects the bidder from the dilemma ofcontingent bids if he/she requires another medical service than whathe/she bids for, and it protects him/her from upper pricing relatedservice by the provider. By the same token, it allows the provider tojudiciously use his medical knowledge and perform appropriate procedureson his patient under guidelines of current medical standards and not besubject to bids that the patients may have chosen. This arrangementoffers both the flexibility of judicious medical choices, yet protectsthe consumer from an inequitable pricing fluctuation of the bid price.

[0140] The present invention can produce a lowering in the cost forprovision of medical services in at least the following ways: First,bringing market forces to bear on the price of medical services willproduce a downward pressure on the cost of such services. Second,medical resources at a given service facility can be allocated moreefficiently, thereby reducing costly “down time”. Third, the onlinemedical transaction system of the present invention can reduce a serviceprovider's non-productive costs associated with carrying a “float” andreduce or eliminate the cost of entering into complex agreements withinsurers. The savings made possible by the present invention may enablea greater share of the limited healthcare market dollars to be spent ondelivering needed health care rather than on contracts, appeals andmarketing expenses.

[0141] The skilled artisan will appreciate that the apparatus and methodof the present invention may easily be adapted for use in the fields oflegal services (e.g. lawbid.com) and accounting services, where it maybe desirable to permit market forces to impact cost of service.Introduction of market forces to legal and accounting services for thecontrol of pricing will greatly enhance transaction efficiency andbroaden the availability of such services to both the buyer andsupplier.

[0142] While particular embodiments of the present invention have beenillustrated and described, it will be obvious to those skilled in theart that various other changes and modifications can be made withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention. The appendedclaims are therefore intended to cover all such changes andmodifications.

What is claimed is:
 1. An online computerized method for arrangingscheduled delivery of personal medical services, said method comprising:posting online at least one proffered personal medical service inassociation with a provider of such service having verifiedqualifications for providing such service; and receiving online bids forsuch service as proffered by prospective users of such service.
 2. Anonline computerized method as in claim 1 wherein said posting includesproffered specifications received in association with provision of saidproffered service.
 3. An online computerized method as in claim 2wherein said proffered specifications include price, time and locationfor provision the service.
 4. An online computerized method as in claim3 wherein said price is automatically computed based on at least one:(a) projected future utilization of the service provider's facility, (b)a predetermined minimum price, and (c) a predetermined base price.
 5. Anonline computerized method as in claim 4 wherein said price is computedas a function of the base price plus a fraction of the differencebetween the minimum price and the base price, said fraction beingrelated to projected future utilization of the service provider'sfacility.
 6. An online computerized method as in claim 3 wherein saidproffered specifications include conditions precedent to the provisionof said service, said conditions precedent including the health andsuitability of the prospective user for receiving the proffered service.7. An online computerized method as in claim 3 further comprising: inresponse to tentative online agreement between a prospective serviceprovider and a prospective user, providing contract details to theprovider and/or user to permit direct follow-up communicationtherebetween to finalize the tentative online agreement.
 8. An onlinecomputerized method as in claim 3 wherein said proffered specificationsinclude terms of payment.
 9. An online computerized method as in claim 8wherein said terms of payment include a requirement for at least partialadvance payment before the service is provided.
 10. An onlinecomputerized method as in claim 1 further comprising: obtaining onlineinformation about the service provider as supplied by prior users ofsuch service provider and making such information available online toprospective bidders for such service.
 11. An online computerized methodas in claim 1 wherein said posting includes a posting of feedbackinformation about the service provider as supplied by prior users ofsuch service provider.
 12. An online computerized method as in claim 1further comprising: obtaining online information about the prospectiveuser's health and/or financial condition and supplying such informationto said service provider for use in determining an online response tothe prospective user's bid for service provision.
 13. An onlinecomputerized method as in claim 1 further comprising: providing CPTand/or ICD-9 coding support for use in selecting proffered medicalservices.
 14. An online computerized method as in claim 1 wherein saidposting includes a posting of CPT and/or ICD-9 codes associated withproffered medical services.
 15. An online computerized method as inclaim 1 further comprising: obtaining a performance price of donatedand/or discounted services performed by a provider of a personal medicalservice for use in logging and tracking tax credit information.
 16. Anonline computerized method as in claim 1 wherein said receiving onlinebids includes limiting received bids for a particular proffered serviceto a predetermined response time window.
 17. An online computerizedmethod as in claim 16 wherein said response time window is dependentupon a receiving time of a previous bid.
 18. An online computerizedmethod for arranging delivery of medical services, said methodcomprising: posting online at least one medical service provider andincluding specifications for service provision including specificationof at least one of time, location and price together with at least oneadditional condition precedent associated with service provision;receiving online bids for such medical service as proffered byprospective users of such service; tentatively accepting online areceived bid for service subject to said condition precedent; andproviding online contact information to at least one of the serviceprovider and bidder subject to such a tentative agreement therebypermitting further communication between the parties to facilitatefinalizing the tentative agreement.
 19. An online computerized methodfor arranging delivery of medical services, said method comprising:posting online at least one medical service provider in association withprior accumulated feedback data concerning services previously renderedby said provider as previously gathered from prior patients of thatprovider; and receiving online bids for such service provider asproffered by prospective patients of such service provider.
 20. Anonline computerized method as in claim 19 further comprising: forwardinga received online bid to an associated medical provider server togetherwith data obtained online describing the health and/or financialcondition of the prospective patient associated with said forwarded bid.21. An online computerized method for arranging delivery of medicalservices, said method comprising: posting online at least one medicalservice provider; receiving online bids for such service provider asproffered by prospective patients of such service provider; andforwarding a received online bid to an associated medical providerserver together with data obtained online describing the health and/orfinancial condition of the prospective patient associated with saidforwarded bid.
 22. An online computerized method for arranging deliveryof medical services, said method comprising: posting online at least onemedical service provider including service specifications identifyingtime and location for service provision as well as an initial price andan action bidding time window during which prospective patients may bidsuccessively higher prices for such service provision; receiving onlinebids for such medical services from prospective patients during saidtime window; and providing online contact information to at least one ofthe service provider and the wining bidder thereby facilitating furthercommunication therebetween for final confirmation and agreement of thedelivery of medical services.
 23. An online computerized method forarranging delivery of medical services, said method comprising: postingonline a menu of medical services for selection by a prospective bidderfor said services; receiving online a selection of a medical servicefrom said prospective bidder; providing online to said prospectivebidder a listing of medical service providers proffering a selectedservice along with proffered specifications for providing said serviceassociated with each provider in said listing; and receiving an onlinebid from said bidder for at least one proffered service.
 24. An onlinecomputerized method as in claim 23 wherein said proffered specificationsinclude price, time and location for provision the service.
 25. Anonline computerized method as in claim 24 wherein said price isautomatically computed based on at least one: (a) projected futureutilization of the service provider's facility, (b) a predeterminedminimum price, and (c) a predetermined base price.
 26. A method enablinga patient to buy a personal medical service and/or procedure and amedical service provider to sell a personal medical service and/orprocedure comprising: (a) the patient viewing, by computer drivenviewing means, information related to the performance of a personalmedical service offered by a medical service provider, the service orprocedure to be rendered at a specified location within a specified timeinterval at a specified offering price; (b) the patient transmitting, bycomputer driven transmission means, an offer to purchase the personalmedical service at the offering price and subject to the restrictions oftime and location specified by the medical service provider; and (c)conditional acceptance of said offer to purchase which is subject to thepatient receiving approval for receiving the personal medical service orprocedure by a medical evaluation of the patient.
 27. A method as inclaim 26 further comprising: performing a medical evaluation of thepatient to make said conditional acceptance unconditional.
 28. A methodas in claim 27 further comprising informing the patient of a specifictime at which the personal medical services or procedures are scheduledto be performed.
 29. A method enabling a patient to buy a personalmedical service and/or procedure and a medical service provider to sella personal medical service and/or procedure, said method comprising: (a)the patient viewing, by computer driven viewing means, informationrelated to an offer to sell a personal medical service by a medicalservice provider, the personal medical service to be rendered at aspecified location within a specified time interval at a specifiedminimum offering price, said information further specifying atermination date and time after which no offers to buy the medicalservice will be accepted; (b) the patient transmitting at a bid time anddate, by computer driven transmission means, an offer to purchase thepersonal medical service at a bid price which is equal to or greaterthan the minimum offering price and subject to the restrictions of timeand location specified by the medical service provider; (c) comparingsaid bid time and date with said termination date; and (d) if said biddate is greater than said termination date and time, rejecting thepurchase offer; and (e) if the bid date is less than or equal to thetermination date, adjusting the minimum offering price by replacing saidminimum offering price with said bid price.
 30. A method for selling apersonal medical service selected from a menu of personal medicalservices, the menu being accessible to buyers of personal medicalservices, said method comprising: (a) receiving from one or more medicalservice providers an offer to sell a specified personal medical serviceincluded within the menu of medical services at a specified offeringprice; (b) authenticating the qualifications of the medical serviceprovider for the provision of the specified personal medical service;and (c) posting the offer to sell the specified personal medical serviceand the specified offering price on a database that is accessible to aplurality of buyers.
 31. A method for selling a specified personalmedical service as in claim 30 further comprising enrolling a pluralityof sellers of medical services using an online registration system. 32.A method for selling a specified personal medical service as in claim 30further comprising enrolling a plurality of buyers of medical servicesusing an online registration system.
 33. A method as in claim 30 furthercomprising receiving an offer to buy the specified medical serviceposted on the database from a first buyer, said offer to buy including aspecified purchase price.
 34. A method as in claim 33 furthercomprising: comparing the specified purchase price in the offer to buywith the specified offering price of the specified medical service, andif the specified purchase price is greater than or equal to thespecified offering price, storing the offer to buy received from thefirst buyer on a computer readable medium and communicating the offer tobuy to the medical service provider.
 35. A system enabling a personalmedical service provider to offer a specified personal medical servicefor sale to a plurality of prospective buyers of the specified personalmedical service, said system comprising: (a) a computer having anon-line connection; (b) a computer-readable storage device connected tosaid computer; (c) a program for controlling said computer; (d) aregister connected to said computer for establishing a computer-readablepersonal medical service provider identification code to a personalmedical service provider; and (e) a qualifier database accessible bysaid computer; wherein the program is operable for causing the computerto: (i) receive an on-line offer to sell the specified personal medicalservice and medical service provider identification code from themedical service provider; (ii) authenticate the medical serviceprovider's qualifications to provide the offered personal medicalservice via searching said qualifier database; and (iii) post an offerto sell the specified medical service on a database that is accessiblefor on-line viewing by a plurality of prospective buyers of thespecified personal medical service.
 36. A computer-readable mediumcontaining a computer program which causes a computer system to computea preferred offering price for the provision of a personal medicalservice by: (a) receiving a plurality of scheduled personal medicalservices and maintaining a schedule of personal medical services to beprovided by a provider of personal medical services; (b) receiving andstoring a list of personal medical services that the medical serviceprovider is qualified to provide; (c) receiving a base price personalmedical services in the stored list of personal medical services; (d)receiving a reserve price for personal medical services in the storedlist of personal medical services; (e) computing a preferred offeringprice for a specified personal medical service; and (f) outputting thepreferred offering price and the specified personal medical serviceassociated therewith to an on-line personal medical service marketingsystem.
 37. An online computerized method for arranging delivery ofpersonal medical services, said method comprising: posting online atleast one proffered personal medical service in association with aprovider of such service; receiving online bids for such service asproffered by prospective patients of such service provider; andreceiving an online complexity rating value associated with a bid, thecomplexity rating value provided by a prospective patient as anindication of an estimated potential medical procedural complexity levelbased on known concurrent personal medical problems/pre-existingconditions that reasonably may affect the rendering of a profferedservice associated with the bid.
 38. An online computerized method as inclaim 37 further comprising posting online a complexity rating scalewhich defines levels of medical procedural complexity and associatedrating values for use by prospective online bidders.
 39. An onlinecomputerized method as in claim 38 wherein the complexity rating scaledefines at least three levels.
 40. An online computerized method as inclaim 38 wherein at least one defined level indicates that no concurrentmedical problems/conditions exist that would affect a profferedservice/procedure.
 41. An online computerized method as in claim 38wherein at least one defined level indicates that some concurrentmedical problems/conditions exist that would affect a profferedservice/procedure.
 42. An online computerized method as in claim 38wherein at least one defined level indicates that concurrent medicalproblems/conditions and/or a history of prior treatments exist thatwould affect a proffered service/procedure.
 43. An online computerizedmethod as in claim 37 further comprising posting online a complexityrating scale which defines levels of medical procedure complexity andassociates rating values for each level for use by a physician/providerof such proffered service in setting a price adjustment to a submittedbid for such service.
 44. An online computerized method as in claim 43wherein a physician/provider of such proffered service may set and/orselect online a specific bid price adjustment to be associated with aparticular defined complexity level.
 45. An online computerized methodas in claim 37 further comprising receiving an online complexity ratingvalue associated with a service/procedure rendered for a particularpatient from a service provider.
 46. An online computerized method as inclaim 45 further comprising computing a procedure complexity divergencescore based on a difference between a received online complexity ratingvalue associated with a particular bid from a patient and a receivedonline complexity rating value from a service provider corresponding toa service rendered in response to the bid.
 47. An online computerizedmethod as in claim 46 wherein said complexity divergence score is madeavailable online to said service provider.
 48. An online computerizedmethod as in claim 46 wherein a cumulative divergence score based on anaverage of complexity divergence scores associated with previoustransactions of said prospective patient is computed and made availableonline to said service provider.
 49. An online computerized method as inclaim 48 wherein said cumulative divergence score is made availableonline to said service provider.
 50. An online computerized method forarranging delivery of personal medical services, said method comprising:posting online at least one proffered personal medical service inassociation with a provider of such service; receiving online bids forsuch service as proffered by prospective patients of such serviceprovider; and after such service is provided to a prospective patient,receiving online patient-compliance feedback information from suchservice provider regarding compliance of said patient with recommendedmedical procedures and/or physician instructions as given by suchprovider during course of treatment.
 51. An online computerized methodas in claim 50 wherein said patient-compliance feedback information ismade available online to said service provider.
 52. An onlinecomputerized method for arranging delivery of personal medical services,said method comprising: posting online at least one proffered personalmedical service in association with a provider of such service;receiving online bids for such service as proffered by prospectivepatients of such service provider; and after such service is provided toa prospective patient, receiving online transaction outcome feedbackinformation from such service provider regarding said patient.
 53. Anonline computerized method as in claim 52 wherein said transactionoutcome feedback information is made available online to said serviceprovider.
 54. An online computerized method for arranging delivery ofpersonal medical services, said method comprising: posting online atleast one proffered personal medical service in association with aprovider of such service; receiving online bids for such service asproffered by prospective patients of such service provider; and aftersuch service is provided to a prospective patient, receiving onlinetransaction outcome feedback information from said patient regardingsuch service provider, wherein said information may be made availableonline to other prospective patients.
 55. An online computerized methodas in claim 54 wherein said outcome feedback information is madeavailable online to other prospective patients by posting saidinformation in association with said provider of such service.
 56. Anonline computerized method for arranging delivery of personal medicalservices, said method comprising: posting online at least one profferedpersonal medical service in association with a provider of such service;receiving online bids for such service as proffered by prospectivepatients of such service provider; and after such service is provided toa prospective patient, receiving online general transaction feedbackinformation from said patient regarding such service provider, whereinsaid information may be made available online to other prospectivepatients.
 57. An online computerized method as in claim 56 wherein saidgeneral transaction feedback information is made available online toother prospective patients by posting said information in associationwith said provider of such service.
 58. An online computerized methodfor arranging delivery of personal medical services, said methodcomprising: posting online at least one proffered personal medicalservice in association with a provider of such service; receiving onlinebids for such service as proffered by prospective patients of suchservice provider; and after a provider accepts a bid price for suchproffered service, if a different or altered service is required to berendered in response to said bid, computing an adjusted bid price basedon a relative value multiplier, wherein said relative value multiplieris obtained from a conventional published procedural CPT code RelativeValue Scale.
 59. An online computerized method as in claim 58 whereinsaid conventional published procedural CPT code Relative Value Scaleinformation is made available online to prospective patients.
 60. Anonline computerized method as in claim 58 wherein said adjusted bidprice scale information is made available online to a patient receivingsuch rendered service.
 61. An online computerized method for arrangingdelivery and payment of personal medical services, comprising: postingonline at least one proffered personal health insurance package inassociation with a provider of such insurance; receiving online bids forsuch insurance as proffered by prospective buyers of such insurance,wherein all or a portion of an accrued death benefit of a health/lifeinsurance policy of a prospective buyer is used as tender to bid for aproffered service.
 62. A method for providing a life/health insurancepackage of a type having a maximum benefit over a predefined periodwherein a premium payment for said package is inversely proportional toany unused/remaining benefit in a linear or non-linear fashion.
 63. Amethod for providing a life/health insurance package linked with anonline market-driven health services bidding process wherein theinsurance package has a predetermined maximum cost limit applicable toonline proffered medical services.
 64. A method for providing alife/health insurance package wherein all or a portion of an accrueddeath benefit may be applied as tender toward a bid in an online auctionprocess when bidding for a proffered medical service.